Jenn Suhr '04 Pole Vaults in NYC & Notches a New World-High for 2014

New York, NY - On June 11, Suhr '04 and four fellow pole-vaulters — the United States' April Steiner, Megan Clark and Janice Keppler and Greece's Ekateríni Stefanídi — held a friendly event in Midtown Manhattan's Herald Square, vaulting against the backdrop of the Empire State Building.

Suhr won the event in a jump-off with Stefanídi, clearing a 15-foot, 6-inch bar in her final vault — setting a new women's high for 2014.

The vault is an encouraging omen for Saturday's meet, one that will include five of the best women's pole-vaulters in the world, but the event itself — how it gave women's pole-vaulting a prime spot at the crossroads of the world — was the biggest positive, Suhr said.

"This is great for the crowd, this is great for us and the athletes, so hopefully in the future something like this can happen again and we can build off of it," she said. "To be out here and to have the support of New Yorkers … it's such an iconic place. And to bring the pole vault, an event that is fun to watch, glamorous, risky, everything all at once here in New York, it fits."